Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for July 31, 2008 GRADUATE OR PERISH

Stupid is as stupid does...

Will politicians ever get it? You can't just wave a magic wand and get what you want!

Okay, strike that...they CAN get "results", but the solution will simply mask the continuing problem...or create a worse one.

The great state of Virginia (or is it "Commonwealth"?)...is going to set a graduation rate of X% and if a school district fails to achieve that number, it will lose its accreditation and suffer various penalties.

What do you think is going to happen as a result?

School administrators will inspire one and all to achieve at high levels! Parents will give loving support to their children, making sure they are home by 10 p.m. on school nights, turning off the television, taking away their video games and CELL PHONES, making sure they eat properly, get plenty of rest...and do their homework! Teachers will be ordered to "do better"...or lose your job! Students will "see the light", see that "education is the key", give up their silly and/or defiant ways...and strive for excellence! Donkeys and pigs will, of course, fly!

Hey, one out of five ain't bad...well, actually, I guess it is! Just trying to keep it real...

Let's make it easy...so that we may all shine!

Pick a number, Governor...any number. 85%? 95%? Hell, why not 100%? Just give us the word...how many graduates do you want next year??? We can make it so...as long as you don't burden us with any "fine print"...like the students actually have to learn something.

Oh, one question...do we HAVE to show a certified return receipt for the diplomas that we mail to students who left no forwarding address when they dropped out after Christmas...a couple of years ago?

Plan links graduation rates to certification

RICHMOND (AP) | Virginia officials are considering a plan to improve graduation rates by tying them to school accreditation.

Gov. Tim Kaine's office is reviewing the plan, which would require schools to meet a graduation-rate benchmark to receive state accreditation and avoid penalties.

The proposal - a revision of the state's Standards of Accreditation - would be subject to public comment before being considered by the state Board of Education. If approved, the change would begin with the 2009-10 academic year.

"We're very, very focused on that issue, and we're kind of mapping backward: Where do kids start to drop out?" said Board President Mark E. Emblidge. He also said officials are focusing on middle and high schools.

Under the accreditation proposal, education officials would create an index to award points to schools for achievements that do not count as diplomas in the official graduation rate, including points for General Educational Development (GED) diplomas.

Critics and supporter of the plan agree that it will be difficult to calculate a graduation rate that is accurate while being fair to schools that deal with an array of students, some of whom aren't interested in graduating.

Angela Ciolfi, a lawyer for JustChildren, a child-advocacy group, praised the state for promoting high-school graduation but said the proposed index is too heavily weighted toward GED. Miss Ciolfi also said schools may not give proper attention to students who take more than four years to graduate if no points are assigned for them.

Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said the goal is for every student to graduate with a diploma.

"When you look at the proposal, it attempts to strike that balance to provide full credit for the ideal - and that is students who graduate with a diploma in four years or less - but also provide some recognition for successful efforts to keep children in school," he said. "Because if they're not in school, then nothing's going to happen for them."